Patient was educated on how to take a loop diuretic as below:
- Take the medication at the same time every day, to avoid forgetting the medication.
- Take the loop diuretic medication during the day time hours and avoid having it during the night. As this medication increases the frequency of urination, taking this during the late evening hours can disturb the sleep.
- Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
- Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
- Take a blood pressure reading always before you take the pill. Maintain a log of every day blood pressure reading.
- If the blood pressure is too low, you can defer taking the medication for that dose.
- Notify your doctor, if more of such occurrences are happening, so that, your medication dose could be revised.
- Also, notify your doctor, if your blood pressure continues to be high or if signs and symptoms of heart failure and fluid retention, such as, pedal edema, do not improve or get any worse further.
- If a dose is missed, it should be taken at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, the missed dose can be skipped. Compensating for the missed dose by taking an extra dose can pose serious risk for an episode of extremely low blood pressure.
